PHOTOS: Indonesia At A Crossroads

Women walk through Istiqlal Mosque, on a recent Sunday, in Jakarta, Indonesia. The fourth-largest country in the world is also one of the most diverse. Indonesia is a democracy, with a larger Muslim population than the entire Arab world combined.

A busy sidewalk in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital. Indonesia's founding philosophy includes the notions of unity and social justice for all. But there are growing concerns that the country is becoming less tolerant than it once was.

Top left: Band members practice twirling flags at Istiqlal mosque. Top right: People visit St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral across the street from the mosque. Bottom right: People light incense at the 17th century Vihara Dharma Bhakti Buddhist temple in a mostly Chinese neighborhood in Jakarta. Bottom left: A Hindu shrine on a Bali beach.

The front of the Hizb ut-Tahrir headquarters in Jakarta has a blacked-out sign. The Islamic organization favors a global caliphate and was banned in July by the government, which deemed it a threat to national unity.

Top: Wahjudi Djaja walks toward the Kejawen cemetery in Yogyakarta to pray. Left: A chandelier hangs at the Kejawen cemetery. Right: Flowers are an important part of prayer rituals in Kejawen, a traditional Javanese religion.

Left: Hastono Wasiyo, 60, is a gravedigger and caretaker at the Kejawen cemetery. Right: Mas Bekel Hastono Darwinto, 61, is the main caretaker of the Kejawen graveyard. Both men clean and maintain the area. In the afternoon, they sit just outside the cemetery in a wooden shed, sharing pieces of cassava.

As home to 250 million people speaking hundreds of languages and spanning some 17,000 islands in an area as wide as the continental U.S., Indonesia is one of the most populous and diverse countries in the world.

The country is about 88 percent Muslim, and it is also home to Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Confucians. It's a place that prides itself on diversity and sees it as a source of strength. "We cannot afford not to have this diversity," says Budi Bowoleksono, Indonesia's ambassador to the United States.

The country's founding philosophy, "Pancasila," includes the notions of unity and social justice for all. Religion, politics and culture hold the country together — but there are growing concerns that the country is becoming less tolerant than it used to be.

Which way will Indonesia go? In traveling across the country, its diversity and complexity, its paradoxes and tensions are all apparent.

"We are diversity and harmony"

The world's largest Buddhist temple complex, on the Indonesian island of Java, dates to the eighth century. Millions of tourists visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Borobudur every year — most of them Indonesian.

Leo Prasetio, 23, works as a tour guide at the site. "I am a Muslim, a happy one," he says. "Actually, we are diversity and harmony now. In this city, yes."

But "the truth," Prasetio says, "is not in all of Indonesia is like this city."

"Only Islam can give justice"

In the capital, Jakarta, a Saudi-funded university called LIPIA teaches Arabic and Salafism, an ultraconservative form of Islam. Men and women sit in separate classrooms, and female students Skype into the men's classroom for their lessons. Saudi Arabia is trying to open four more LIPIA campuses in other Indonesian cities.

Sidqi Addayyan, a 27-year-old LIPIA student, is studying to become a religious teacher and hopes someday Indonesia will become an Islamic country on the Saudi model.

"I believe that only Islam can give justice, because in my opinion, if we let another ideology dominate Islam, there will be injustice," he says.

The school has "a very strong connection directly to the Saudi government," says Sidney Jones, who runs the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict and has studied extremism in Indonesia for 40 years. "The fact is, however, that some of Indonesia's most progressive Muslims have also studied Arabic at LIPIA. So it isn't just a hotbed of Salafist Islam, though it is a very important institution for spreading Salafism."

Jones notes there is now "a much greater attention to Islamic practices that Indonesian Muslims didn't necessarily adhere to in the late 1970s and early '80s." But, she says, "people confuse a tendency toward greater piety with evidence of radicalism."

"They love the bling"

Brightly colored hijabs line the walls of Si.Se.Sa., an upscale fashion boutique in Jakarta. It's named for the three sisters who own the shop — Siriz, Senaz and Sansa, all in their 30s. They specialize in modest syar'i or "Shariah compliant" fashion and say they follow in the footsteps of their mother, also a designer.

"In every country, they have their own identity, their own DNA," Citro says. "So, for instance, in Indonesia, they're very colorful. They are very conservative in terms of cut, but lots of bright colors."

Minority beliefs under threat

In a dimly lit crypt in Yogyakarta, Wahjudi Djaja kneels in front of a tomb and sprinkles flowers on the grave as he whispers a prayer. He practices a Javanese religion called Kejawen, also known as Kebatinan, whose rituals involve amulets and a figure known as the Queen of the South Sea.

A day before, Djaja says, his fellow worshippers were conducting a ritual in the local river when a group of hard-line Muslims showed up and tried to block them. That kind of confrontation is increasingly common, he says, and it worries him.

The road ahead

"Indonesia has given me the understanding of how to contain multitudes," says Maya Soetero-Ng, President Obama's half-sister. She was born in Indonesia and was raised there until age 14. "But it has also given me, by virtue of its worst bits, an understanding of how we have to confront the worst in human nature."

U.S. Ambassador Joseph R. Donovan says every democracy needs "careful nourishing" and cultivation of shared values. "And it also requires a healthy dose of courage as well," he says, "to stand up to say we support moderation, we support the rights of minorities. Everywhere these are being challenged, and Indonesia is not an exception there."

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ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Maya Soetoro-Ng bridges the United States and the country of her birth.

MAYA SOETORO-NG: I was born in Indonesia. And our mother raised me there more or less until the age of 14.

SHAPIRO: You say our mother. This is you and President Barack Obama.

SOETORO-NG: That's correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BARACK OBAMA: Thank you to the people of Indonesia. (Speaking Indonesian).

(CHEERING)

SHAPIRO: That means, I've come back home. I recently visited Indonesia to look at how religion, politics and culture hold the country together and sometimes pull it apart. We'll explore these issues all this week. Aside from the fact that the former U.S. president spent a few years of his childhood there, Indonesia does not often pop up on most Americans' radar.

SOETORO-NG: I'm not exactly sure why Indonesia has such a low profile in the United States. Indonesians like to say it's because although they study in the United States, they miss the food too much and head back home afterwards.

SHAPIRO: In a way, it's strange that Americans don't often hear about Indonesia because it has the fourth-largest population of any country in the world, and it's one of the most diverse countries on Earth. People speak hundreds of languages spread across thousands of islands. Indonesia has more Muslims than the entire Middle East combined.

We're exploring Indonesia's diversity in our stories this week, looking at the struggle between majority rule and minority rights, threads of growing intolerance and political campaigns that value identity over policy, some of the same issues the U.S. is working through. So today - a few small snapshots, vignettes that give a sense of this country's scope and its challenges.

It's a little before 5 in the morning. The sky is just getting pale.

First - the largest Buddhist temple in the world on the island of Java. Borobudur dates back to the 8th century. Visitors wake up at 4 a.m. to climb to the top of this stone tower and watch the sunlight flood the surrounding hills. Leo Prasetio is a 23-year-old tour guide. I stop him to talk when his group of tourists from India wanders off to take selfies.

Are you Buddhist?

LEO PRASETIO: No. I am a Muslim - a happy one.

SHAPIRO: As a Muslim giving tours of this Buddhist temple...

PRASETIO: Yes.

SHAPIRO: ...How do you think about the intersection of religions?

PRASETIO: Actually, we are diversity and harmony now in this city, yes.

SHAPIRO: Diversity and harmony, he says. Indonesia's founding principle is called Pancasila. It includes the idea that different people should co-exist even if they worship in different ways.

WAHJUDI DJAJA: (Praying in foreign language).

SHAPIRO: Another snapshot a few hours' drive from the Buddhist temple - in a dimly lit crypt, a man named Wahjudi Djaja performs a ritual unique to his brand of Islam.

Wahjudi is quietly saying the prayer under his breath as he sits cross-legged in front of the tomb.

He sprinkles flowers on the grave. This is a local form of Islam called Kejawen. The rituals involve amulets and a Goddess known as the Queen of the South Sea. Over lunch, Djaja tells me that he fears Indonesia is becoming more intolerant. The previous day, his community was conducting a ritual in the river when hardline Muslims showed up and challenged them.

How often are their confrontations between Kejawen people and fundamentalists?

DJAJA: (Through interpreter) In six months, it's happened six - under seven times. It's never happened often like this year.

SHAPIRO: Why do you think this is happening now?

DJAJA: (Through interpreter) There is a politicization first. It's about political things.

SHAPIRO: This is a big question right now in Indonesia. Is the country becoming less tolerant than it used to be? And if so, why? Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta, is the second-largest metropolitan area in the world. For decades, Saudi Arabia has funded a university here called LIPIA. It teaches a more fundamentalist form of Islam. Men and women sit in separate classrooms. Female students Skype into the men's classroom for their lessons. A journalist named Krithika Varagur meets me across the street from the campus. She's done some reporting on the school.

If I were going through the course catalog here, what would be on offer?

KRITHIKA VARAGUR: I mean, I think the tent pole of the curriculum is teaching Arabic language. They also study Islamic law and theology of course, which is the mandatory subject.

SHAPIRO: What does Saudi Arabia get out of this?

VARAGUR: If you can think of it in the way that American foreign policy is based on spreading democracy and spreading freedom, the Saudi foreign policy involves spreading its own values across the world.

SHAPIRO: The school wouldn't let us interview any faculty, but I met a student named Sidqi Addayyan getting noodles at a food cart across the street.

Would you like to see Indonesia become a Muslim country in the way that Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country?

SIDQI ADDAYYAN: (Through interpreter) Yes. I hope Indonesia will become an Islamic country because I believe that only Islam can give justice. If we let another ideology dominate Islam, there will be injustice.

SHAPIRO: It sounds like you are saying someone must rule over the others; there is no place for everyone to live on the same level.

ADDAYYAN: (Through interpreter) Yeah. In my opinion, people outside Islam only support their own race or religion.

SHAPIRO: Saudi Arabia is trying to open four more campuses of this school in other big Indonesian cities. Some people fear that as a threat. Others say it's just one more square in Indonesia's patchwork quilt. And a country can become more religious without becoming more radical.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: And then the (unintelligible) - so this is the brightest.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: Oh, nice.

SHAPIRO: Final snapshot - an upscale boutique in Jakarta called Si.Se.Sa. Brightly colored outfits line the walls, conservative clothing for religious Muslim women who love fashion. Their designs cover the hair and the arms and legs down to wrists and ankles. The patterns include traditional Indonesian batik, embroidered flowers and layers of ruffles. Benedicta Citro is meeting with the owners. She's an Italian designer for Swarovski, the company that makes crystals, representing the Southeast Asia market.

BENEDICTA CITRO: In the Southeast Asia, they love crystals. They love the bling. So it's a great moment for us (laughter).

SHAPIRO: How does the Indonesian fashion in conservative clothing differ from other countries?

CITRO: Every country - they have their own identity, their own DNA. So for instance, in Indonesia, they're very colorful. They are quite conservative in the terms of cut...

SHAPIRO: But lots of bright colors.

CITRO: ...But lots of bright colors.

SHAPIRO: This shop is owned by three sisters, Siriz, Senaz and Sansa, hence the name of the store, Si.Se.Sa. The youngest sister, Senaz, wears a long hijab that's pleated in the back.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #3: Casual collection from Si.Se.Sa., but it's also a hit.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMEN: Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

SHAPIRO: Obviously any one description of Indonesia will fall short. When I asked President Obama's half sister Maya Soetoro-Ng to describe her memories of the country, she unfolded a long, lyrical story about childhood foods, dances, sounds and smells.

SOETORO-NG: It was a really kind of sweet, robust time of community and culture. And it felt safe.

SHAPIRO: And then she segued into a description of anti-Chinese riots when she was 9 years old, a scene that taught her about human capacity to do harm.

SOETORO-NG: Indonesia has given me the understanding of how to contain multitudes. But it has also given me, by virtue of its worst bits, an understanding of how we have to confront the worst in human nature.

SHAPIRO: Those tensions and paradoxes will be the focus of our stories all this week. Tomorrow - the story of a political campaign that has some uncanny parallels with the US. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.